The Faltering
by got-fandom
Summary: The Enterprise crew has encountered a potentially dangerous man with severe memory loss. Unknowing of who he really is, this man poses no threat. Little does anyone know, he holds secrets that could bring the universe to its knees.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Technically, this is suppose to be Heroes crossed with Star Trek: Into Darkness. However, the category is not available. This is an AU where Into Darkness would go more along the lines of the TOS episode _Space Seed_. Enjoy!**

Prologue:

The sound of gunshots rang through the man's ears as he ran. He slid under the fallen metal column that obscured his path. The man did not even hesitate despite his thumping heart and bleeding scars. A hatch at the end of the narrow corridor made the man feel enlightened. He reached the hatch and easily turned it open. The man crawled though and slammed the door behind him causing a loud bang to echo through the empty room. The man pressed his hands against the cold surface. He was panting hard and the deep scar on his face stung along with his tired muscles.

The man rested his head against the wall as well and prayed that it was all over. But, would it ever be over? He took a deep breath and released an exhausted sigh. "Mohinder!" came a voice from behind. The man, Mohinder that is, whipped around. He squinted through the darkness in an attempt to see something. Blue electricity dimly lit the room and revealed a familiar face. Peter Petrelli stood before the geneticist. "Peter! Oh, never in my life have I been so revealed to see you!" However, Peter did not seem in the mood for a warm welcome. His eyes had dark rings around them and his features were etched with melancholy. "They ordered me to kill you." he replied sorrowfully. Mohinder's smile dropped almost instantly. "Kill me? Why?" the Indian man asked.

Peter swallowed the lump in his throat and did not reply. "Why, Peter?" Mohinder demanded again. Peter sighed and shook his head. "Mohinder, don't think for one second that I could actually kill you." he said dodging the question again. Mohinder let out an agitated sigh out his nose. "That doesn't aswer my question." he said curtly. Peter stared at him. "You caused this, Mohinder. They see you as a threat." His eyes went wide at the accusation. "Threat!? Yes, okay I'll admit that most of this is my fault, but I can fix this. In fact, I'm the only one who could!" Mohinder exclaimed. Peter could only nod slowly. The sparks of electricity that were formed around his hand faded.

"I'm sorry Mohinder." Peter whispered. Even just at his small tone his voice echoed. Mohinder clenched his eyes shut knowing that something was to happen to him. Suddenly he felt as if he were being chocked. He felt his throat being compressed making him gag. Mohinder was slowly lifted off his feet. He chocked and spluttered attempting to make some kind of sound. "I really am sorry." Peter said again. Mohinder was flung across the room like a rag doll. His head hit the metal wall with a hard impact. A very quick pain shot through him. Then, everything went black.


	2. Chapter 1: The Awakening

Chapter 1: The Awakening:

"What do we have here, Bones?" Captain Kirk strode into Sickbay with his First Officer at his heels. Both of them glanced cautiously at the man sitting on the table. "He was the only one that read positive. He's been thawed out and we were waiting on you so we could revive him." McCoy said. The Captain nodded. "Carry on." he said. McCoy placed the hypospray that he had in his hand to the man's arm. The faint noise told them that the medicine had entered his bloodstream. They waited a few seconds, then the man's eyes slowly fluttered open. He sat there staring at the ceiling with a blank expression. Suddenly, his eyes went wide. He jolted to a sitting position. "Peter!" he gasped with such shock. He then furrowed his eyebrows as if confused by what he had said. "Hey, take it easy." soothed McCoy quickly. He pressed his hand against the man's shoulder. "Lay back down, your alright."

The man obeyed and flopped back down onto the medical bed. "Where am I? A hospital?" the man questioned looking around in confusion. "This will be a lot to explain. You were frozen in a Cryogenics Tube. Right now, It's the 23rd century and you are in the Sickbay of the Starship Enterprise." Captain Kirk attempted to explain the man's situation. "What's your name?" he asked. The man smiled lightly and glanced at the Captain. "You will think I'm the stupidest person in the world. I don't remember anything. The only things I do remember is that it was March 20th of 2009, I was running, and some guy named Peter was involved." he chuckled lightly. Kirk grinned. "Not to worry, it's a good start." he replied with a shrug. "Is there any memory at all of your name?" questioned Spock with his usual monotonous voice.

"Eh..." the man bit his lip in deep concentration. He closed his eyes and tried desperatly to remember his name. An image flashed through his mind. "Khan? I think my name is Khan." he opened his eyes and smiled sheepishly. Khan's smile faded when he saw who he was talking to. The tall, skinny, pointed-eared Vulcan gazed at him with a raised eyebrow. "Y-your..." he trailed off staring at Spock. "Ears?" finished McCoy bemused. "Yeah, he's a bit of a freak. Mind if I take a blood sample?" Khan extended his arm. "My name is Commander Spock. I am the First Officer of this ship. Greetings." he bowed his head slightly and Khan nodded slowly.

After McCoy had finished, Khan sat up again. "I don't mean to be rude. This is just so interesting." he breathed. Spock simply nodded and replied. "Understandable considering you have never met a Vulcan before." Kirk chuckled lightly. "Anyway, My names is Captain Jim Kirk, This is our CMO Doctor McCoy." Khan glanced between them and nodded. "Thank you for doing this. Who knows what would have happened if you hadn't shown up." he smiled lightly. "The ship in which you and the others were stored had a faltering life-support system. Eventually, it would have failed completely. The Cryo-tubes would have thawed and you and the others would have most likely died. In fact, the likelihood was 85.7564 percent." Khan bit his bottom lip slightly. "Well, then I owe you my life, all of you."

* * *

"Jim, this is incredible." McCoy, Spock, Kirk, and several other senior officers were examining the results of Khan's blood tests. "According to these, Khan's genes have been mutated. They give him a certain ability. He's five times faster and stronger than us" McCoy said intriguing. "Are these genes inherited?" Kirk asked. "I don't believe so, but I can't be sure." The doctor replied. "Computer," Kirk said. "Ready." came the computer's voice in reply. "Look for similar genetic mutations around the time period of 2009." The computer replied instantly. "Working..." there was a short pause. "Displaying results." it said. Kirk looked to the screen. He slowly read off the names it displayed. "Claire Bennet, Elle Bishop, Monica Dawson, Issac Mendez, Adam Monroe, Matt Parkman, Angela Petrelli, Nathan Petrelli," Kirk paused then gave a nod to the screen. "Peter, Peter Petrelli. Guess that's who Khan what talking about." He continued to scan through the list but he did not find anyone named Khan there.

"Computer," Said Kirk again. The computer chirped its ready signal again. "Match the genotype of the blood sample with that of the people listed." Kirk directed. "Working..." the computer paused for a moment. "No result found." Spock raised a quizzical eyebrow. "Well," Kirk announced slapping his hands down upon his thighs. "Either this list is wrong, or somebody tried very hard to hide Khan's true identity." he said glancing between the gathered crew members. "Gentlemen, I want answers. Who is this man aboard our ship?" Montgomery Scott, the chief of engineering, spoke. "If someone was tryin' to hide this man's identity, he must be dangerous!" the Scotsman said. There were murmurs of agreement around the table. "Or he is simply of vital importance. Such importance that someone feared his death to be soon." Put in Spock who was followed by McCoy. "Ah, and then surely he would have been protected.

"All of these are very possible answers." cut in Kirk firmly. "I want the correct one." Everyone was rather silent around the table at this. "Captain, It is possible that I could use the Vulcan mind-probe and bring these memories to the surface." Spock spoke, breaking the silence. Kirk nodded slowly. "And, you would be willing to do this?" he asked cautiously. Spock nodded. "Yes, Captain." Kirk glanced around the table before he stood. "Dismissed." he said to the gathered crew members. They all stood and exited except for Spock and McCoy. With the air of a man who needed more answers then he could ever get, Kirk announced. "Bones, Spock. You are coming with me."


	3. Chapter 2: The First Rule

Chapter 2: The First Rule

Out of his boredom, Khan had decided to catch up on what he missed. Over two-hundred years of isolation gave a lot of catching up to do. One of the nurses had shown him how to work the futuristic screens so he could read about the history and technology. "It's all very interesting isn't it?" Khan glanced up seeing an assistant doctor preparing a hypospray. "I'm Doctor Raymond, by the way." he said quickly before Khan had much of a chance to reply. "What's that?" he asked gazing at the container which the doctor was placing into the casing. "A small mixture of vaccines to eradicate any pathogens which may endanger the crew." Dr. Raymond replied. Khan nodded. "Right! I just read about that! Because you have already completely wiped out such common diseases, the immune system no longer has to fight them. A simple cold could kill a man!" The doctor nodded with a small smile. "After this when Dr. McCoy returns, you'll be given a final check and sent to your quarters." he said. Khan couldn't help but grin.

As if replying to his name, McCoy entered the Sickbay followed by Spock and Kirk. Khan brightened even more, beaming at McCoy as he entered. "All his vitals are normal and he's just been injected with the vaccines." Dr. Raymond announced. McCoy let out a small sigh seeing the man's gleeful face. "We just have to do one more thing before we can send you to your quarters." he said. Khan's smile faded quickly. Spock strolled to stand beside his medical bed. "I noticed you were reviewing some history of the past two-hundred years." The Vulcan commented. Khan nodded slowly. "Have you read anything about my people?" he asked. Khan then shook his head. Spock gave a nod. "What I'm going to attempt to do is the Vulcan mind-meld."

Khan had never heard anything like that. He assumed that it had something to do with searching his thoughts and sub-conscious. The thought made him get an uneasy and slightly fearful feeling. However, this feeling didn't feel directed to the current situation. He felt like the thought of this mind-meld was bringing unpleasant memories that he could not even remember. "This may be able to revive your memory." Spock said breaking Khan's thoughts. Khan considered it momentarily and wondered why he had an uneasy feeling. There was only one way to find out. "By all means, go ahead." he replied. Spock nodded. He placed his fingers to Khan's temple. Spock said a few words that Khan did not entirely hear before he passed out.

Khan awoke again still in the same position as well as Spock. The Vulcan removed his hands, then gazed at Kirk. "It is as if somebody stole his memories. He hardly has any residue of his memories at all." Kirk gave a small sigh at the words. "We only have one option left, then." he said. Spock arched an eyebrow. "The only way to find the answer is to talk to someone who Khan once knew." he replied. Kirk nodded. "With permission from Starfleet, we can jump into time warp and talk to someone." he said. Spock did another small move with his eyebrows. "An act like that would be illogical for one man." he replied and Kirk smiled. "If that man was actually known, it would be illogical. No offense to you Khan, but for all we know you could be a mass murderer." he said

Khan chuckled lightly. "I understand, I wouldn't trust me either!" he said. Kirk looked from Khan to McCoy. "Do your final check and we'll let Khan to his quarters." he said to McCoy. The doctor gave a nod. He turned on his heels and strode to a small alcove of the Sickbay. It was only seconds later that he staggered back out. His eyes were wide with terror and his breath was heavy. "It's Dr. Raymond!" he exclaimed. Spock and Kirk quickly joined him. Khan hoisted himself off the medical bed and followed the officers through the doorway. His eyes were met with a horrible sight.

Sitting next to the doorway was a young nurse who Khan had seen several times. She was bound and gagged by some rather old-fashioned chains and duct tape. Her cheeks were stained with streaks of mascara that had been rubbed away by her tears. Her pretty blonde hair was matted and knotted with blood. The nurse wasn't the worst of it. Dr. Raymond was lying in the middle of the room. The top part of his head was gone and his brain had been removed. There was blood all around him making a gruesome sight. There was writing upon the walls in the doctor's blood. "Rule one:" Kirk read aloud. "Trust no one." The words sent chills up Khan's spine. They were the most familiar words he had heard since this all happened. Strangely enough, he had not heard them before.

The nurse had been released from her bonds. She was still crying and shaking. "Shh, you're alright now. You're okay." cooed McCoy. Khan had quickly noticed how the doctor could go from yelling and ranting to reassuring and helping. However, at the moment he could not appreciate his ability to do either. Khan had averted his eyes from the horrid scene. "D-doctor, it was awful!" the nurse cried. "I know, can you tell us what happened?" McCoy asked. The nurse nodded definitely. "Y-yeah. Just give me a m-moment." she said. The four of them comforted the nurse while she recovered.

Once the nurse had calmed down she explained the story. "Okay, this was about an hour ago. Me and Dr. Raymond had come before our shifts and we were just talking." she began. "There's a problem with that. We were talking to Dr. Raymond not five minutes before I saw that body." the nurse nodded quickly. "I'll get to that. Anyway, we were talking and finishing our breakfast when Ensign Ralen, from engineering, came in. He asked where you were. We told him that you were at that meeting with the captain. So, he asked to join us. For a while, we were just talking with nothing much else to do. Then, Ensign Ralen started talking about...being special. He was acting really weird. Suddenly, he threw us against a wall, didn't even touch us. He lifted a finger and sliced Dr. Raymond's skull open. I had tried to scream, but I just couldn't! Then, he changed _into _Dr. Raymond. He put his hands in the blood, wrote that on the walls, then tied me up!"

Khan, Kirk, McCoy, and Spock all carefully listened to the nurse's story. They were all quite intrigued by how all this could happen. "Whoever killed Dr. Raymond left a good message. If he can become anyone on this ship, we really can't trust anybody." Kirk said with a sigh. There was a sudden glint of determination in his eyes. "We're going back in time whether Starfleet approves or not. We have to find Peter Petrelli and get some answers." he said. Spock glanced at the captain. "How can we be positive that Peter Petrelli is the one with the answers?" he questioned. Kirk gave a nod to Khan. "He shouted Peter when he first woke up. There is a man named Peter Petrelli on that list. It can't just be coincidence. We must find him!" Someway, the acknowledgment of another presence was over looked. It was only called to attention when an unfamiliar voice replied. "That won't be necessary."


End file.
